Centering on the ever popular theme of good versus evil, the paranormal fantasy read “The Chronicles of Good & Evil - Dracula's Lair / the Darkest Tower” takes readers to a world in danger of being dominated by Satan. In my interview with the author C. David Murphy on January 17, 2013, we explored this multidimensional novel, strongly rooted in Christian beliefs, and the experience of creating it.
Q: Your book “The Chronicles of Good & Evil - Dracula's Lair / the Darkest Tower” focuses on saving the world from Satan. Do you think the popularity of novels about defeating evil is a reflection of concerns people have over all the criminal activity and the perception of decaying morality in today’s society?
A: I think that has something to do with it. However this complexity may partially entail the nature of human perception. Our society, at this current time, has a prevailing negative tone engrained in it. Since 2001 and the events of 911, the outlook, especially in America, has been much less hopeful. You see it in television programming, movies, & the dark nature in the news (which has prevailed since Watergate). All of this has culminated to change our general outlook. This being said, I do feel the statement that our society is in moral decay has real truth in it. Not so much from a judgment standpoint, but from the inescapable reality that, if we were to rediscover what our country was truly founded on, we could very well alter much of the violence and negative tone that persists in our society today.
Q: Was it difficult to write a book in which one of the characters is Jesus?
A: The novel is a Christian novel. The Bible plays a major role in this tale. It became, in some respects, the roadmap to how the story was to be told. God and Jesus are the two most prevailing, most powerful characters in the Bible. And so these teachings streamline themselves within the novel and the entire series as a whole. To deny this would deny the most important elements in the Bible. I am a Christian and will always profess to be so – but this does not change my objectivity to what incredible teachings the Bible relays to humanity, and what essential wisdoms all believers and non-believers alike can utilize in their everyday living. You can strip the Christian element out of this novel, but the vital message is still the same. The love for your neighbor, to sacrifice for others, the gift of giving, to treat others with uncompromising kindness, and to act for the betterment of all humanity still speaks to the heart of all of us.
Q: Do you prefer fantasy to other genres, if so, why?
A: My preference is writing a very compelling story, wherever the genre may end up being. ‘A Diary’s House’ is more of a Twain/Dickens adventure tale. ‘In Winter’s Moment’ is a family, modern-day drama. ‘Chronicles of Good & Evil’ is a universal tale; an ongoing battle between the two essential powers which are after the soul of all humanity. We all have free choice, but such choices carry with them paramount consequences – some of which are unintended. The mystery lies in who will win the battle for each soul- this very core, in a sense, is the final chapter to all our lives…
Q: Who is your single biggest influence as a writer?
A: I would have to say my Christian faith rules the pen with which I write with. I was born to write. Ever since I was four years old I’ve been storyboarding, at least in my mind. My imagination would forever look for new invention; characters to play with. It took me until the age of sixteen to begin to experiment and look for a narrative style that would hold its pace and movement. After many trials and errors, I learned each story needed to procure its own, singular style in narrative. No one narrative works consistently enough to tell ‘every story’. So the art form comes in creating the correct narrative to tell the story with. I can be accused of being ‘wordy’, which is fine. A reader should always remember when encountering my work that there is a fusion of storytelling, artistic phrase inscription to give the story, on its own, real character, simplistic and complex plots and subplots intermingled together – but perhaps most of all, an undeniable sense that the reader can’t predict where the story will eventually land. Consider ‘The Chronicles of Good and Evil’ in multi-layers, which the first book doesn’t show all - much like ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ series by C. S. Lewis. Each book brought about new, inventive elements which were linked to the first book, but were unexposed until the reader delved into the latter books.
Q: If “The Chronicles of Good & Evil - Dracula's Lair / the Darkest Tower” was made into a film, who would be your first pick to direct it?
A: Without a doubt – Peter Jackson, director of ‘The Lord of the Rings’. I’ve watched all the long versions to the trilogy, including every appendices. All of his interviews would suggest a man of extraordinary depth and intuition. One who could bring out the true spirit of ‘Chronicles’. The visual elements would require such a gifted visual artist such as himself to bring to film…
Q: What do you hope readers take away from “The Chronicles of Good & Evil - Dracula's Lair / the Darkest Tower”?
A: That hope still lives. That in the darkest times of life; the greatest trials we live through - hope still lives. And Faith, born within us, given to us by the Father, will guide us through. I have gone through terrible trials within my own life, but if you believe and trust in this, as I do within my Christian beliefs, you will prevail. There are more to wings than those of the angelic kind within ‘Chronicles’. The stories are there; the lessons are there. I hope when people read this novel, beyond all the impassioned plotlines, the engrossing characters, the galactic and titanic battles, that you will find a little of yourself at the end of the story. My goal is always and forever to affect change in the lives of those who read my novels…
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